So this week has tested my patience. It has stolen my patience away from it's cozy home, smacked it around with a smelly fish, yelled playground taunts at it until it yelped and wailed angrily and was then stretched like the skin on a drum. it was tested and it has failed with flying metallic colours.
Positive thought right?
Let me fill you in on the week that was. Gather round closer. Not you extreme sports calendar!!
But first I will fill you in a day or two before my patience reached boiling point....
We went to a Filipino hip hop battle. yes that's right - you heard me correctly, no need to go de-wax your ears, or search for that hearing Aid. It was incredible how they can dance. All those flips, and baggy pants, and what not. SO GOOD!
Now for the rest of the week...
So we begin our little tale with the beginning of the week that was - First official full week of classes.
Tuesday - bucketing down with the kind of rain you can only find in tropical climates. unusual climate for this time of year in the Philippines, or so the locals informed me. I went to my first ever 'Introduction to Shakespeare' class. I sat quietly in the back of the room, hoping no one would notice me. But being a pasty white girl in a room full of tanned Filipino's makes you stand out whether you like it or not. The teacher came bounding into the room, and happily called the roll. I was relieved at how amazing her english was; although i suppose to be an english teacher, you have to have clear english speaking skills. She called my name and everybody turned to look at me, when i tried to pronounce my name (it incresingly occurs to me that when you are in a room of Filipino accents, the Australian accent sounds amazingly Bogan). She then continued to take the roll.
After this she announced that she would like everyone to pass up their homework from the previous class (the one i missed thanks to my foot swelling up like a balloon and taking a trip to the university medical center). So my heart races like a maniac as i realise...ummmm homework?? shit!
Thankfully i discovered the homework was just to write an essay on 'Why do you think this course is a core part of the english curiculum?' as well as 'when and where were you when you lost your shakespearean virginity?' People then talked about how they watched Shakespeare in Love, or saw Claire Danes and Leo DiCaprio getting it on in a pool.
My professor (That's Professor Ick to you!) sat cross legged on the table and in true theatrical style waved her arms around madly as she talked Shakespeare for the next hour and a half. its safe to say i really really loved this class. She is so very obscurely passionate and not at all timid to speak her mind.
My next class was Comparative literature from Europe during the Renaissance and Medieval times. For which my lecturer didn't even turn up. After waiting in the class room and talking to this lovely Filipino girl (I believe she called herself Check) i walked in the pouring rain to get a form from the international office. Like i said previously, everything here is done manually... I turned up at the office looking like i had just gone for a swim, and they all proceeded to tell me that i should buy an umbrella...yep, thanks for that one. I believe the best comment was one of the men who looked up from his newspaper to quietly ask 'was that from the rain?'. I am sure the humour would have been lost on him if i sarcastically replied with 'No no, I just felt like dumping an entire ocean on top of me'.
And then back to the next class we went. Hi-ho Hi-ho Hi-ho.
The next class was our first day of Community Work. Which we spent 3 hours in an entirely freezing cold air-conditioned room listening to the teacher speak in Tagalog mostly, and throwing in the occasional word in english. I would have to liken the experience to feeling like someone is speaking another language to you...purely because they were. To make it worse, we figured out that we were in a class of nutrition students, not social workers (after a long discussion with office staff who said we couldnt go into the class with social workers, because it was not our major, to which we said it was, but they wouldnt let us anyway). SO we spoke to the teacher who told us to transfer into the social work specific community work class.
Cue going back to the office. To which no one was there. Cue me wanting to stand at the top of the building and scream out my frustrations, but instead falling into fits of hysterical giggling. As it turns out i have discovered that I have bizarre emotional responses to stress. Go figure.
Wednesday - We had our 8:30am class for Project development for social welfare and community development. To which our professor has a background in economics and has decided to teach us from a purely economical standpoint. bleugh. Another reason to hurl myself off the top of a building. I believe his words are "Mathematics is so important, we will be focusing on that". I don't know about that.. I am pretty sure another reason i picked this type of profession was because of it had no association with my archnemesis, the dreadful Dr Mathematics. He then proceeded to tell us that we had 4 different assigments. One was a group presentation due at 8:30am on Friday morning (yes, less than two days away) and that there was no class next week due to doing another huge assignment. Now we found this out painfully, asking questions, to which he had no solid response. It's a theme here in the Philippines i find unusual. here let me give you an example.
Professor - "You have an essay to write"
Us - "What is the Essay on"
Professor - *mumbles something non committal* "just go write an essay, not sure how long or what the topic is specifically. also u have a day to do it"
Cue our very confused faces, and giving up on trying to figure it out being that we have been trying for the last half hour.
Thursday - Thursday was the same classes as Tuesday, and i enjoyed that very much. After class, i went to the international office to pick up some more forms, and then we spent the next 4 hours walking all over campus to get it signed and all this to change our class day and get an ID.... When we arrived at one of the offices, the man told Cathy, Tania and I that we actually needed to get the form signed by another office first, to which he recieved three very unhappy and exasperated glares from three very unhappy and sweaty australians. He then slowly exclaimed "...or maybe we could just sign it for you..." Yep, i think you should do that mr office worker. If you have the capacity to do that in the first place, why couldn't you just do that?!?! The system here drives me insane.
So the entire day continued on that way, and we went back to the international office to only recieve more forms to fill in and chase after. The office lady, Belle, told us that we would be having a christmas dinner for all exchange students, and every country would be putting on a song or dance or something cultural. After thinking she was joking, she laughed and said "It's because of you B, You always come in laughing and you have rubbed off on me". Now I can only think my coming in laughing has something to do with that inappropriate stress mechanism where i fall into fits of giggles because i actually want to scream or cry. But to be known as the happy-go-lucky joking one doesn't seem like such a bad thing to be thought of as.
Friday - We had our presentation. During which our professor was falling asleep, and then when the other students presented theirs, he walked out of the room to take a phone call. I am pretty sure that's disrespectful, and i am not filled with confidence that we are going to get that 75% minimum we need just to pass this subject. Breathe in, Breathe out. Breathe in, Breathe out. Perhaps i should use my stress mechanism and laugh maniacally again???
I also went to buy a small travel laptop that afternoon (because mine seems ancient and certainly not portable anymore) And i picked up this lovely one that i am typing on while having an ice coffee in starbucks (whoever invented iced beverages and air conditioning is my hero. seriously, where are these people, i owe them a big big hug). They all told me i could get a free dvd transferer thingamo (i dont speak technology) and off i went. Later to get a text message from a VERY flustered worker saying "Mam, we gave you the wrong dvd thing, please can you bring it back, please, so sorry". Mostly because she will get charged and what not. So that brings me to Saturday...almost. Friday night, my housemates and I spent the night, learning songs. Tania on her guitar, Cathy learning to play the Uke, and Erin and I harmonising to a beautiful song by Slow Club. Our hosue has become a fiesta of musicality. I love that. Music is so much fun and such a relaxant.
Saturday - I took it all the way back to the mall, and I think they lady was so excited to see me, it meant her no longer having a coronary. I was told that i had to go pick up the dvd thing from Makarte (another 40 or so minutes from here). Nothing here is done in the easiest possible way. So she told me she could get it on my behalf since there was the stuff up. Yes please, so now we play the waiting game.
We then as a group went to the movies to see twilight (now now, don't go judging), and then bummed at home for the rest of the night. We did do some grocery shopping which is interesting on its own accord. I just wanted to buy some soap, alas all the soap is skin whitening soap... I want a tan, not to become pastier. doh!
Today we are doing nothing, except i am reading 'One Day' which is toying with my emotions a lot. Dam it being so amazing!!
So here is my reflection process. This life here in Manila is vastly different from anything I have ever experienced. It is by no means a holiday, and it definitely will be an adjustment. And I will get there, I know this is where i need to be in my life right now, and I have been stripped bare of the lifestyle i am used to. It's only now that i can begin to build myself back up into a new person. And i will do it, not with ease, but with determination.
Now I shall get back to my inner turmoil with this book. must finish it before school madness begins once again tomorrow (after our delicious dinner tonight at a place called 'Van Gogh had Bi-Polar...interesting name....)
Much Love to you all,
Love B xox
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